A victim from accident at Cafe Oo La La in the Ridgeway Shopping Center where Samuel Leighton, 92, drove into the restaurant in Stamford, Conn injuring 9 people on Monday August 8, 2011 is taken to the hospital.

A victim from accident at Cafe Oo La La in the Ridgeway Shopping Center where Samuel Leighton, 92, drove into the restaurant in Stamford, Conn injuring 9 people on Monday August 8, 2011 is taken to the

A victim from a accident at Cafe Oo La La in the Ridgeway Shopping Center where a elderly man drove into the restaurant in Stamford, Conn injuring 9 people on Monday August 8, 2011 is taken to the hospital.

A victim from a accident at Cafe Oo La La in the Ridgeway Shopping Center where a elderly man drove into the restaurant in Stamford, Conn injuring 9 people on Monday August 8, 2011 is taken to the hospital.

STAMFORD -- The 93-year-old driver who barreled through a glass storefront and into a Summer Street cafe last summer -- injuring a pregnant woman, a 4-month-old baby and eight other patrons -- was granted access Friday to a diversionary program that requires two years of probation.

Samuel Leighton, of Morgan Street, will have his criminal record wiped clean after completing the state's accelerated rehabilitation program. Judge Robert Genuario granted Leighton access to the program Friday morning at state Superior Court in Stamford, including orders prohibiting Leighton from driving or owning a car.

Stamford police accident reconstruction investigators arrested Leighton two weeks after the Aug. 8 collision at Cafe Oo La La in the Ridgeway Shopping Center, charging him with reckless driving and second-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. Investigators said Leighton mistook his gas pedal for the brake, and accelerated his 2003 Honda Civic into the crowded cafe at lunchtime.

The prosecutor, Assistant State's Attorney David Applegate, said he would leave the decision on accelerated rehabilitation up to the judge since Leighton was unlikely to re-offend without access to a car. Police also revoked his license after the collision. Applegate described the accident in detail and said the 4-month-old baby was pulled from under the car while it was still in the restaurant.

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"The video is terrifying," Applegate said of the surveillance video footage of the accident. "There aren't a lot of things we see here that are shocking."

Defense attorney Eugene Riccio applied for accelerated rehabilitation at Leighton's first court appearance last September. Riccio said on Friday that Leighton, a former law professor, served in the U.S. Navy during both World War II and the Korean War. Leighton shuffled through the courtroom Friday assisted by a cane.

"That whole concept about elderly drivers is something that needs to be re-examined by the state Legislature," Riccio told the judge Friday.

Alan Pickel, an attorney representing the infant girl and her parents, objected to allowing Leighton to use the diversionary program. He said the infant girl suffered a concussion in the crash and that it's unknown whether the injuries will have lasting effects.

"At first glance it's frustrating because you have a 93-year-old man who has lived a full and honest life, but at the other end of the spectrum I have a 4-month-old baby that was found behind the rear tire of Mr. Leighton's car," Pickel told the court during proceedings Friday.

Pickel said Leighton's insurance coverage could not pay for all three of his client's medical bills, let alone the other victims. Two women, one of them pregnant, sat outside the cafe and suffered serious injuries when Leighton's car pushed through the glass storefront during the collision.

A patron who suffered several cuts in the incident, Jean-Marc Longo, 60, of Stamford, addressed the court after Genuario canvassed the gallery for additional victims. Longo recalled sitting behind the cafe's glass storefront when the sedan came through. He was able to throw himself from his chair and avoid significant injuries. When he got up, he heard people shouting. He walked over to Leighton's car and saw his foot was still on the accelerator. Longo removed him from the car and put the transmission in neutral, he said.

"I think all the 10 people were very, very lucky," Longo said. "The car was like a bulldozer."

Pickel asked the judge to order Leighton to declare his assets so victims can pursue civil actions against him. Instead, Genuario told Leighton to inform the victims whether he planned to transfer any of his assets. After the proceedings, Pickel said elderly drivers should face more stringent requirements.

"Something needs to be done about checking or retesting the faculties of the elderly at a certain age," he said. "It's completely understandable that the court would not want to put a 93-year-old in jail for what he did."

Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 203-964-2215.